Zimbabwe's MDC to fight run-off against Mugabe

By Phumza Macanda

PRETORIA (Reuters) - Zimbabwe's opposition leader said on Saturday he would return home within two days to contest a run-off election against President Robert Mugabe and deal him a "final knock-out" after almost three decades in power.

But chances of a speedy end to a tense political stalemate since a disputed March 29 election appeared remote, after the justice minister rejected Movement for Democratic Change leader Morgan Tsvangirai's preconditions for taking part in a run-off.

Tsvangirai said he would only participate if international observers and media were given full access to ensure the vote is fair. He said the country's electoral commission was discredited and should be revamped, and called on the regional SADC grouping to send peacekeepers to instill public confidence in the vote.

Justice Minister Patrick Chinamasa shrugged off the demands.

"The run-off will be held within the framework of the constitution and the electoral laws. There will be no conditionalities that will be outside this framework," he told Reuters.

After weeks of equivocation, Tsvangirai said he would contest a new round of voting although he believes he won outright in the first round. The MDC accuses the ruling ZANU-PF of intimidating and attacking voters.

"The MDC ... will contest the run-off. I am ready, and the people are ready for the final round," Tsvangirai told a news conference in South Africa.

Official results showed ZANU-PF lost its parliamentary majority for the first time since independence in 1980, and that Tsvangirai beat Mugabe in the presidential poll, but not by enough votes to avoid a run-off. Both the government and opposition have challenged some of the results.